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Be it lower back Pain from sitting in your office chair for hours or joint pain while climbing up the stairs, around 100 million Americans suffer from chronic pain, and the number only seems to be growing day by day. No matter how worse the situation is getting, people are trying to be responsible by not opting for the easy way out. The opioid crisis has people on their toes, and they’re always on the lookout for better and natural solutions for pain management. One of the trending treatments is myotherapy, and if you’re just as confused as the thousands of other people reading this, then keep on scrolling. 

What is myotherapy?

If we try to break it down, ‘myo’ means ‘muscle,’ so myotherapy translates to ‘muscle therapy’ and consists of a numerous amount of techniques used by Massage therapists, chiropractors, acupuncturists, and physical therapists to treat the ailments of the soft tissues of the body. 

The term was first coined by Bonnie Prudden to help specify a therapy that focused on trigger points and post-isometric relaxation.

The therapy’s main aim is to correct any myofascial (myofascial is a type of a tissue layer on top of your muscles. People often refer to it as secondary skin) pain, which is the pain felt at a site different from its point of origin. It means that if you are feeling pain in your arm or hand, the pain may not go away by focusing on the area where it hurts, but it has a higher chance of resolving if we shift the focus on the point of its origin. It helps by relaxing the contracted muscle, improving blood circulation, and exciting the monosynaptic reflex (a stretch reflex).

The thought is fundamental that through an assortment of muscle-centered procedures and rehabilitation, you can alleviate the pain all through the body mainly by focusing on areas that don’t hurt necessarily but might be responsible for the pain you’re feeling.

1.  Correcting Your Posture

Myotherapists help reduce muscle pain by customizing massage treatments to cater to their client’s individual needs. Most common areas affected by postural changes are usually neck and shoulder regions frequently found in individuals who sit a great deal or utilize a PC at work. The lower back is additionally a place inclined to pain and tightening from sitting for an extended period. A proper massage can help these issues by protracting the muscles and offsetting the body for improved postural realignment.

2.  Reducing Muscular Pain and Stiffness

Tight muscle trigger points can be catered efficiently with the help of massage techniques and dry needling. These trigger points can, very quickly, cause soreness, stiffness, and muscle pain that affects a site far from the origin. Specially crafted stretches help the muscle fibers elongate and strengthen, which inevitably helps them restore their original form. Massage also helps regulate blood flow and increases tissue oxygenation at the cellular level that can repair cells and promote further healing of the muscles. So instead of going back to chugging down muscle relaxants and blood thinners, remedial massages can eliminate tension headaches and pain at their source for a more long term fix instead of a temporary one.

​3.  Stress Relief

The effect massages have on your anxiety and stress levels cannot be underestimated. Of course, massages help the body relax, but they also have an impact on a deeper cellular level. Massage therapy can help trigger the release of endorphins, dopamine, and serotonin (also known as the happy hormones) while they decrease the levels of cortisol and other stress promoting hormones like epinephrine and norepinephrine. 

Massage therapy is especially suitable for people suffering from any cardiovascular problems as it helps lower diastolic pressure with a decrease in stress-induced anxiety. So not only do massages help you feel better emotionally, but they also have longstanding sound effects on you physically.

4. Increase Range of Movement

Muscles always cross over the joints in the body and wrap themselves around nicely, so any tightness present in the tissues will also restrict joint movement. Muscles consist of a central belly and tendons on opposite ends for attachment; the tightness in the muscles can originate from either of those places. If you have been experiencing pain or restricted movements in your joints, you might want to address the soft tissues first before moving on. Once the joint’s mobility smoothens, the motion will be better, and that may alleviate any inflammation or associated pain. The most common site of such pain is the shoulder where the rotator cuff muscle or the bicep tendon can cause dysfunction of the joint.

5.  Helps in Exercise

No matter which form of exercise you love doing, myotherapy can help boost your exercise performance by giving your muscles the much-needed love they have been missing. The phenomenon exercise works on is continuous breaking down of your muscle fibers and rebuilding strong ones again, but lack of recovery time or overuse of the muscles can lead to damage and injury in the muscle fibers that will only do more harm than good.

By doing this, you are being aware of what your body needs and when it is the key to prevent damage from taking place. If muscles feel sore and tight during yoga or running, you might want to book a massage appointment.

 6.   Improve Sleep Quality

Sleep gives the body time to heal and rejuvenate. It cures many cells or even DNA strands in our body while we’re off wandering in the land of dreams, but poor sleep quality can make many of us suffer a great deal. Stress, muscle pains, cramps, anxiety, and headaches all-cause improper sleep and hence hinder the body’s normal functioning. Educating people on sleeping positions and pillow types can make a huge difference. Getting a massage just before sleeping has been reported to help people receive the uninterrupted sleep they so badly need. 

Let’s hope this article has undoubtedly convinced you to book a massage appointment now!

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